I will go and see a particular pro (MC and Emmy know who) with one of his students, just because I like him and I am in awe of the student. I would see them together any time, any where, and I don't know either of them. The student represents to me what I'd like to be someday. So, not only will I go to see people I know, I have sat through entire days at OSB just to see dancing and "test" myself to see if I am seeing the technique of the dancers.

Definitely adds - indeed, thats the whole point. Seeing other pro/AMers who have achieved excellence and are competing at the highest levels is, at least for me, very inspiring and pushes me to try harder. Once I've seen a couple a few times I start to look out for them and then I am hooked...

Marketing? someone like Sam S. He's basically made OSB one of the top comps in NA on pro/am (at least its a very large factor) - thats what brings in the large audience for his events and vendors (in addition to money of course). I can't help but have the feeling at OSB that the pro/am events are really there to make the 'real' ones possible. He just has to take the step of recognizing the elite pro/am dancers themselves (no, one evening courtesy dance does not cut it) to make them a real part of the comp.

I think Elise is right... I go see my favorite (high level) proam's if the competition is close by, even when im not competing and I don't know them personally.... I like to see what other dancers are doing and how they do at competition.... you can learn a lot from watching other people.. (lol, even if it's what NOT to do..). Pro/Am Smooth is AWESOME!

So my question is if you went to competition and you watched this proam couple dancing really well and placed well, and you were looking for a new pro teacher. Would you consider this pro as a new teacher?

So my question is if you went to competition and you watched this proam couple dancing really well and placed well, and you were looking for a new pro teacher. Would you consider this pro as a new teacher?

Absolutely. Don't forget, its your money and you get to use it as you see fit.

Of course I would check into the guy a bit - see how he treats his students, if he is already over-committed and what his pricing (and more important price-honesty) is like.

However, what I did was to find the young guy that is trying to make it on the pro dance scene - and is the right height range for me. Each competitor gets to the point where they want to find strong pro-ams with whom they can compete. Whats fantastic about that is they can't stop dancing all out and start to force you to dance like their partners. Its a heck of a ride, but you learn so fast.

So my question is if you went to competition and you watched this proam couple dancing really well and placed well, and you were looking for a new pro teacher. Would you consider this pro as a new teacher?

If I were in the market for one, I definitely would at list add him to the list of potential candidates. So a good student definitely enhances pro's resume, so to speak.

So my question is if you went to competition and you watched this proam couple dancing really well and placed well, and you were looking for a new pro teacher. Would you consider this pro as a new teacher?

If I were in the market for one, I definitely would at list add him to the list of potential candidates. So a good student definitely enhances pro's resume, so to speak.

Yes, we did, but like I said, if someone happens to be a resume-enhancing item for someone else, that's between them to work out the details.

Also, one thing to consider - if a teacher has multiple competing students, he and the more visible student may have to be discrete about how they handle this sort of thing. Otherwise, if it's public (i.e. he's openly giving student A a price break on competition fees because she's his "resume enhancer") his other students might be unhappy about it.

And another thing - it might not necessarily be the highest-level student that brings the pro most of new business. It might as well be his bronze lady who was seen by other bronze ladies looking for a new pro. Maybe even more likely so.